Imagine your buddy breaks into your neighbor's house, steals some valuables and drops them off in your house. He is now on trial for burglary. You want to help with his defense, so you say, "if it was wrong to break into that house, why didn't the police stop him from breaking in?" That has been the reaction of our predisent.

Imagine your buddy breaks into your neighbor's house, steals some valuables and drops them off in your house. He is now on trial for burglary. You want to help with his defense, so you say, "if it was wrong to break into that house, why didn't the police stop him from breaking in?" That has been the reaction of our predisent.

Yes. I read it and in that article:

“It is the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend,” said a former senior Obama administration official involved in White House deliberations on Russia. “I feel like we sort of choked.”

From the WaPo story:The intelligence captured Putin’s specific instructions on the operation’s audacious objectives — defeat or at least damage the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, and help elect her opponent, Donald Trump.

The intelligence on Putin was extraordinary on multiple levels, including as a feat of espionage.

For spy agencies, gaining insights into the intentions of foreign leaders is among the highest priorities. But Putin is a remarkably elusive target. A former KGB officer, he takes extreme precautions to guard against surveillance, rarely communicating by phone or computer, always running sensitive state business from deep within the confines of the Kremlin.

Dems have some gall! How nasty do you have to be to complain, "Boohoo! We lost the election because Russia helped spread the truth about us, and people wouldn't vote for us when they knew the truth! Boohoo!" Do they really expect sympathy for such complaint?

If Russia did truly help spread the truth about the Dems, then the American people should thank Russia for it.

On a related note, let's not forget that the Obama admin was monitoring Trump and could not find any dirt on him other than some old pussy grab comment.

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:In the end Obama's sense of fair play may have gotten in the way. I only blame him for being too decent.

More likely his Commie loyalty got in the way. Comrade or country - which comes first to a commie? He showered freebies on communist Cuba in return for nothing, and now this. Also, he had a score to settle against Hitlary - she made some very nasty remarks about him in their 2008 Primaries face-off.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

Russia under Putin is an oligarchy which is at the other end from communism, to the right of free market capitalism.

Staying on topic, I am certain that a Republican president would not have worried about such niceties as worrying about tipping the election. He would have decisively jumped on seizing the political advantage had he been in Obama's place. Obama is firstly a democrat and then too much of a gentleman. Reading the WaPo reports, I think he erred but it's a little difficult to criticize his reasons. A difficult judgment call. Perhaps Bubba would have chosen differently in his place. Democratic politicians in a prior era were hardened political operatives. This generation has become a little too pussified perhaps due to the influence of the touchy feely millennials. Time to go back to hard-edged electoral politics.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

Shunning globalism was one of the hallmarks of communism. You are a mass of contradictions. You have written posts in the past that Obama was only concerned with elites and only the elites flourished under the great stock market expansion of the last 8 years. People with means, investing their capital and benefiting from corporate profits and the resulting stock market expansions is one of the hallmarks of capitalism. Communism (in its pure sense, not the fake Chinese communism) is the opposite of a free market economy and stock market expansions.

When you clear your head and decide what you actually want to say, please come back and post.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

Shunning globalism was one of the hallmarks of communism. You are a mass of contradictions. You have written posts in the past that Obama was only concerned with elites and only the elites flourished under the great stock market expansion of the last 8 years. People with means, investing their capital and benefiting from corporate profits and the resulting stock market expansions is one of the hallmarks of capitalism. Communism (in its pure sense, not the fake Chinese communism) is the opposite of a free market economy and stock market expansions.

When you clear your head and decide what you actually want to say, please come back and post.

A politician will do whatever it takes to make life convenient for him. For nearly 8 years, Obummer presided over the rape and plunder of the working class. But towards the end, he showed his love for Cuba and went soft on Russia. He was on his way out, had nothing to lose and perhaps felt "screw this, for once I am gonna do what my commie heart wants to do". Regarding Russia, he probably didn't care because of his past history with Hitlary. Now how about you take a break till the day Cuba ends communism?

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

China is still communist, but Nixon, Reagan and the two Bushes all gave them freebies. Does that make them commies?

The other day Obama was Muslim. Today he is a commie. He must be a Muslim commie. Nobody can help someone who is deliberately trying to be stupid.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

Shunning globalism was one of the hallmarks of communism. You are a mass of contradictions. You have written posts in the past that Obama was only concerned with elites and only the elites flourished under the great stock market expansion of the last 8 years. People with means, investing their capital and benefiting from corporate profits and the resulting stock market expansions is one of the hallmarks of capitalism. Communism (in its pure sense, not the fake Chinese communism) is the opposite of a free market economy and stock market expansions.

When you clear your head and decide what you actually want to say, please come back and post.

For some of Obama's critics, it all begins and ends with Obama. If he did something it must be wrong. The same guys who would celebrate wildly when the stock markets do well under anyone else will blame him for helping Wall Street. They will criticize him from the left while supporting far-right policies. Some of these critics are cynical politicians who are just playing a game. Others are motivated by non-political reasons mostly to do with identity politics.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

Shunning globalism was one of the hallmarks of communism. You are a mass of contradictions. You have written posts in the past that Obama was only concerned with elites and only the elites flourished under the great stock market expansion of the last 8 years. People with means, investing their capital and benefiting from corporate profits and the resulting stock market expansions is one of the hallmarks of capitalism. Communism (in its pure sense, not the fake Chinese communism) is the opposite of a free market economy and stock market expansions.

When you clear your head and decide what you actually want to say, please come back and post.

For some of Obama's critics, it all begins and ends with Obama. If he did something it must be wrong. The same guys who would celebrate wildly when the stock markets do well under anyone else will blame him for helping Wall Street. They will criticize him from the left while supporting far-right policies. Some of these critics are cynical politicians who are just playing a game. Others are motivated by non-political reasons mostly to do with identity politics.

For some of (actually 2) Obama's supporters it all begins and ends with Obama. To them, he can do no wrong. The same guys who would shed tears about working class lives getting devastated while the stock market goes up turn a blind eye and praise him for making the markets go up. They will support him from the left while criticizing anything done by the right. Some(actually 2) are sycophant followers who are just playing the "I support my leader no matter what" game. Others are motivated by identity politics - in their view, brown folks ought to vote dem always and white man is a racist.

Intelligence officials and lawmakers are concerned that the State Department is dragging its feet in implementing a crackdown on Russian diplomats’ travel within the U.S., despite evidence that Moscow is using lax restrictions to conduct intelligence operations.

The frustration comes amid bipartisan concern that the Trump administration is trying to slow down other congressional efforts to get tough on Russia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a House committee last week that a new Senate sanctions package designed to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election would limit Trump’s “flexibility” and impede possible U.S. “dialogue” with Moscow.

Has communism ended in Cuba? Why did he give freebies to that country? Obummer loves commies and is a commie at heart.

China is still communist, but Nixon, Reagan and the two Bushes all gave them freebies. Does that make them commies?

The other day Obama was Muslim. Today he is a commie. He must be a Muslim commie. Nobody can help someone who is deliberately trying to be stupid.

Obummer is suspected to be a Muzlim because of his reluctance to speak out against Islamic terrorism, making deals with Iran, secretly funneling them cash, etc. Even before he gave concessions to Cuba and pardoned a communist terrorist, Obama has been known to have communist leanings. An individual need not conform to an either or logic statement. He can have a multi-trait personality.

An initiative started by GWB that Obambi actually hindered but the CIA got lucky and they found UBL(if you want to use acronyms)

Check ZDT.

http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/critics-on-obama-dark-zero-thirty-084894 wrote:As CNN’s Peter Bergen notes, the president himself makes only one cameo.“The one time the president does appear in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is in a clip from a ‘60 Minutes’ interview in which he criticizes the use of ‘torture.’ By this point in the film, the audience has already seen that the CIA has employed coercive interrogation techniques on an al Qaeda detainee that produced a key lead in the hunt for bin Laden. In the film, Obama’s opposition to torture comes off as wrongheaded and prissy.”MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough discussed Obama’s position on torture as it relates to the film on Monday’s “Morning Joe,” saying the film “presents a narrative that is going to make a lot of people in the mainstream media, in the Democratic Party and in the administration uncomfortable, and that is the truth that Barack Obama learned, the first briefing that he got after he won the election, and that is that the CIA program, whether you find it repugnant or not, actually was effective with [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] and other people getting actionable intelligence that led to couriers, that led, eventually, years later, to the killing of Osama bin Laden.”

The Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on Central Intelligence Agency detention and interrogation of terrorists, prepared only by the Democratic majority staff, is a missed opportunity to deliver a serious and balanced study of an important public policy question. The committee has given us instead a one-sided study marred by errors of fact and interpretation—essentially a poorly done and partisan attack on the agency that has done the most to protect America after the 9/11 attacks.

The former presidential candidate John McCain is one of three US senators who have criticised the depiction of torture in Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow's fact-based drama about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The film suggests that waterboarding and coercive interrogation tactics were instrumental in gathering information ahead of the successful raid on Bin Laden's compound in May 2011.

Our view on this is shared by the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Republican minority, both of which are releasing rebuttals to the majority’s report. Both critiques are clear-eyed, fact-based assessments that challenge the majority’s contentions in a nonpartisan way.

Your use of an outlier exception, only proves the rule (or in this case the point), as they say, Mr. Kaan.

When it is convenient for you McCain is a demented old man but other times he is your golden boy. Nice!

I have many differences with McCain. He is getting old and he should retire. But he actually looked into the facts on the hunt for UBL and he has enough experience and background in this area. That makes him more credible than either you or Saxby Chambliss (ranking Republican member at the time) who got multiple deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Idéfix wrote:I have many differences with McCain. He is getting old and he should retire. But he actually looked into the facts on the hunt for UBL and he has enough experience and background in this area. That makes him more credible than either you or Saxby Chambliss (ranking Republican member at the time) who got multiple deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Ha ha ha! And you're the expert on when his opinion is right and the CIA's is not and when he is unraveling. Just like you're the expert with your election forecasts.

Idéfix wrote:I have many differences with McCain. He is getting old and he should retire. But he actually looked into the facts on the hunt for UBL and he has enough experience and background in this area. That makes him more credible than either you or Saxby Chambliss (ranking Republican member at the time) who got multiple deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Ha ha ha! And you're the expert on when his opinion is right and the CIA's is not and when he is unraveling. Just like you're the expert with your election forecasts.

You are no more of an expert on this than I am. You are welcome to have the last word.

Idéfix wrote:I have many differences with McCain. He is getting old and he should retire. But he actually looked into the facts on the hunt for UBL and he has enough experience and background in this area. That makes him more credible than either you or Saxby Chambliss (ranking Republican member at the time) who got multiple deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Ha ha ha! And you're the expert on when his opinion is right and the CIA's is not and when he is unraveling. Just like you're the expert with your election forecasts.

You are no more of an expert on this than I am. You are welcome to have the last word.

I think I'm quite willing to take the words of the CIA directors on actionable intelligence. You can play both sides of McCain depending on what suits you at the moment, Mr Kaan.

Idéfix wrote:I have many differences with McCain. He is getting old and he should retire. But he actually looked into the facts on the hunt for UBL and he has enough experience and background in this area. That makes him more credible than either you or Saxby Chambliss (ranking Republican member at the time) who got multiple deferments to avoid fighting in Vietnam.

Ha ha ha! And you're the expert on when his opinion is right and the CIA's is not and when he is unraveling. Just like you're the expert with your election forecasts.

You are no more of an expert on this than I am. You are welcome to have the last word.

I think I'm quite willing to take the words of the CIA directors on actionable intelligence. You can play both sides of McCain depending on what suits you at the moment, Mr Kaan.

Ah, OK.

Coming back to the topic: do you take the CIA's word regarding the Trumputin investigation? Do you believe that Russia interfered in the election in order to help Trump?